Seeing Red (37 page)

He put a hand on her arm and pulled her through the door. “Stay put,” he said, closing the door on the storm. “I’ll get a flashlight.”

As she stood there in the stuffy darkness, she heard the wind battering the house and the
drip, drip, drip
of water falling from her onto the floor. It echoed, like water dripping in a cave.

Even though the house was oppressively warm, she shivered.

Nate returned with a flashlight. He had a towel slung around his neck and handed another one to her.

She took it and dabbed her face. It smelled like the house, musty and unused.

He ran his towel carelessly over his hair. Then he locked the front door. “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll open up and get some air moving.”

He carried her bag up, lighting the creaking staircase with the narrow flashlight beam. The steps curved to an upper balcony that overlooked the two-story entry hall.

Ellis followed along, feeling like a kid sneaking around a haunted house.

The balcony ran across the width of the entry hall. The stairs continued up on the other side to the third floor. In the center of the balcony was a set of open double doors. When the lightning flashed, Ellis saw a large room with a fireplace and French doors that opened onto the second-story veranda facing the lane from the road. There wasn’t a stick of furniture in it.

On either side of the interior balcony, hallways led to the wings containing the bedrooms.

Nate walked down one of the halls. “As you can see, the place is bare bones. So I only have one furnished bedroom.”

Ellis said, “Doesn’t matter. I’m not getting more than five feet away from you. This place gives me the whim-whams.”

He laughed. “It’s the storm. Well, and the dark. And the emptiness.”

“Like I said, consider me gum on your shoe.”

They reached a corner bedroom on the creek side of the house. Nate swept the light around. “See, nice and cozy. No ghosts.”

“Yeah, like they’d stand still for you to shine the light and introduce them.” Still, this room was a vast improvement. There was a king-size bed flanked by night tables, an overstuffed chair with an ottoman, a bookcase, and a couple of chests.

He set her bag near the bed, then went to open the French doors to the veranda and the two tall nine-over-nine windows on the room’s other side. The air started to circulate immediately. It was sticky but cooler than the house.

“I’d open the rest of the house, but considering the circumstances, I don’t want anything open that I can’t see.”

“Good idea.” She shifted her weight, and water squished out of her canvas shoes.

“The bathroom is through there.” He shone the light on a sixpanel door. Then he lit a couple of candles—utilitarian ones, the kind a man would buy in case of a power outage.

He opened a drawer in one of the chests and pulled out some dry clothes. “You feel like eating?”

It surprised her that her stomach had completely ceased its rolling. “I might be able to eat a little something.”

“Let me see what I can scrape up. You can change and dry off.” His gaze traveled over her, and she realized how little wet silk concealed.

He seemed to catch himself and looked away. “I’ll get the food. It’ll be cooler eating up here where the windows are open.” He started for the door.

“Whoa there, buddy. You just sit tight while I change. Then we’ll both go down to the kitchen.” She added, “That way I can see the rest of the house.”

He grinned, and for the first time since he’d been back, she saw his old smile, the one that shone in his eyes and radiated from his entire loose-limbed body.

Stepping close, he slid his arms around her. “Yeah, sure.” He kissed her lightly.

Leaning back, she looked into his eyes and saw the flicker of candlelight reflected in them. Tilting her head, she said, “Are you calling me a liar?”

For a long moment, he looked into her eyes. There was no humor in his expression when he said, “I think you’re an incredibly brave woman.” He paused. “Who’s afraid of my big dark house.” The corner of his mouth lifted in a teasing smile.

“Hey, I already admitted this place creeps me out,” she said. “What more do you want?”

His face grew serious again, and he looked at her long enough that parts of her started to heat up. Finally, he said, “That’s not a safe question to ask when your shirt is plastered to you like that.”

She linked her hands behind his neck and took them a step closer to the king-size bed. “Maybe that’s exactly what I had in mind.”

A shuttered look flashed in his eyes, one that reminded her of his reluctance to make love to her earlier.

Damned if she cared. She wanted one more ride to ecstasy, and he was the only one who could take her there.

She kissed him, urging him past his hesitation.

When his arms remained at his sides, she said, “The cow is already out of the barn; no need to close the doors now.”

With a moan that sounded of surrender, he pulled her so tightly against him that her heels came off the floor. His mouth dipped to the curve of her neck, and Ellis realized this was the only man whose intimate touch would ever move her soul. It was a bittersweet discovery. She now knew that she was capable of earth-shattering love—and that Nate would take it away with him when he left.

His mouth slid across her collarbone, wiping away everything except the sensation of his moist lips on her skin.

Was it possible to be destroyed by a man’s mouth alone?

When he pulled away, he pushed the wet hair away from her face and looked at her in a way that set her on fire. “I didn’t know . . . I think I’ve been looking for you every day since I left here.”

Returning to her lips, his kiss spoke less of desperation and more of tenderness.

She peeled off his wet shirt. The candlelight made flickering shadows, defining his muscles. She ran her hands over his chest, enjoying the feel of solid muscle beneath the soft hair. It was brazen and not at all like her. But she wasn’t herself when she was with him.

A startling thought hit her. Maybe all of her life, she’d been someone else. Maybe the only time she was truly herself was when she was with him.

And when he leaves, you won’t find yourself ever again.

His lips once again claimed hers, and she drove away thoughts of separation. They had now. They had to make it count.

They didn’t make it the additional four feet to the bed. They tore at each other like love-starved creatures. No matter how quickly they joined, or how closely intimate they were, it seemed neither of their needs could be slaked.

She wanted to meld not only their bodies, but their entire beings into one. And for one bright and shining moment, it happened. There was nothing but the supernova of their desire, the blinding purity of their mutual completion.

And afterward, when they lay on the floor in a tangle of bare limbs and discarded clothes, she felt a tear roll from the corner of her eye.

It must have fallen onto his chest, because he shifted her so they lay facing each other. With a gentle finger, he traced the track of her tear.

She felt no awkward shyness now as she looked into his eyes.

“God, Ellis . . . if only my life was different, if only I had something to offer you.” He kissed her lightly. “I don’t want to leave you; you have to know that. But I won’t make you promises. And I won’t ask for any from you.”

The naked emotion she saw in his eyes told her he meant every word. And her heart felt the doubleedged sword of love; the more you cared, the more it hurt to lose.

She traced his lower lip with her finger. “My heart is already breaking—”

The last two words were obscured by a violent clap of thunder that signaled a close lightning strike. She was glad. It was the wrong thing to say; confirming Nate’s fears, supporting his original stand that they should not have taken this step.

His arms had tightened around her with the thunder and stayed that way. She rested her head on his shoulder and soaked in his closeness while she had the chance.

A few minutes later, he said, “I promised you some food.” He kissed the top of her head. Then he let her go and got up. He handed her her tote. “You’d better get some dry clothes on, or I’m liable to forget about feeding you.”

She grinned and took the bag, clutching it to her stomach. “I’ll just go into the bathroom.” She stood. “You promise not to dash off with the flashlight while I’m in there.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her quickly. “I’m sending it with you.”

Raising a brow, she said, “Do I need to be more specific with my question?”

He grinned and she forgot all about food. “I’m not going anywhere without my gummy shoe.”

“Thank you.” She went into the bathroom and dried her hair with a towel, then dressed.

When she came out, Nate looked up, slightly startled. He had one leg in a pair of shorts. “Man, that was fast. You that scared of my house?”

“Watch it, or I’ll bean you with this flashlight.”

He pulled up the shorts and zipped them. He didn’t put on a shirt. “Come on. Maybe you’ll feel less spooked after you see the rest of the place.” He took the flashlight from her and led the way from the room.

“Doubt that,” she muttered as she followed on his heels.

Twenty minutes later, they sat on the floor of his bedroom in front of the French doors, eating scrambled eggs and toast. He’d given Ellis a tour of the entire upstairs and the main floor of the house. She couldn’t really say that it had quelled all of her unease. The place was filled with tiny curving servants’ stairways hidden in the walls and high-ceilinged rooms holding nothing but dust and two-hundred-year-old memories.

But his kitchen and bedroom were little islands of comfort and hominess.

The rain continued to fall, gently now. The candles’ glow lent a sense of quiet contentment.

Ellis was feeling mellow and relaxed as they ate in companionable silence. They each leaned against the opposite jamb of the same French door; Nate’s extended foot caressed the side of her leg in languid strokes.

Then Nate’s cell phone rang.

As soon as he answered, he lowered his voice and got up and walked away. Thunder rumbled in the distance, working as an accomplice to conceal his conversation.

When he disconnected the call and turned to face her, she knew something was terribly wrong.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY-SEVEN

N
ate stood in the open back door, with Ellis right behind him. He hadn’t been able to convince her to wait upstairs while he dealt with this. After what Charlie had told him on the phone, Nate didn’t want Ellis to see what he was delivering until Nate had had a chance to screen them.

He watched headlights approach in the hammering rain. Water was already standing in several places; here in the low country, there just wasn’t anywhere for the water to go.

The car stopped as close to the wide veranda steps as it could. The driver’s door popped open. Charlie jumped out and ran for the porch.

“Come on in,” Nate said.

Charlie remained on the porch, swiping the water off his shaved head. “I need to get back to the hospital. Mrs. Greene’ll be wanting to get home.”

He handed over an envelope, which he’d wisely tucked inside a plastic bag. “I spent some time checking with the neighbors. One of them saw a light blue minivan pull up in the driveway around six this afternoon and stick the envelope in the door.”

“Make? Model?” He knew it was a lot to hope for.

Charlie shook his head. “Just that it was older, boxy. And the guy who got out of it was tall. That was all she recalled. The only thing she noticed about the plates was that they were South Carolina.”

He shook Charlie’s hand. “Thanks, man. I appreciate all your help.”

Charlie clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, I
still
owe you.”

Nate watched Charlie’s footfalls splash water as he ran around the front of the car.

“Okay,” Ellis said from behind Nate. “I did my part and kept my mouth shut while you took care of business. Now tell me what’s going on.”

He turned to her. She stood with her arms crossed and a look of stern determination on her face.

He’d avoided hurting her with these details fifteen years ago. He hated what he was about to do.

“Let’s go back upstairs.” He closed and locked the back door. “We’ll need the extra light.”

Hollis sat in the parking lot of the bar watching the rain run down his windshield. This wasn’t at all what he’d had in mind when he’d followed Reinhardt when the man had left his house two hours earlier.

He’d actually expected the man to explode from his house minutes after he’d picked the envelope out of the door.

Funny, the way some people worked.

But, Hollis supposed, the more Reinhardt drank, the more likely it was he’d do something . . . exciting.

Hollis crossed his arms and slouched down in his seat. He could afford to wait. He had nothing but time.